Bánh Tráng Trộn in the Alley

Imagine my surprise when, during Hai and my recent Escape from Vietnamholiday travels, we were challenged by a young woman in the middle of the Aegean Sea on the Greek Island of Santorini, as to why we had not yet discussed bánh tráng trộn on Eating Saigon!

“Well, Hai and I have been busy,” I defensively answered her. (That should have been obvious from the photo below.) 🙂

Hai’s toast – “Here’s to Saigon street food!”

Actually, we had a fun time discussing Saigon street food with the young American doctor with whom we shared our Greek isle hotel’s cliffside jacuzzi. She had just completed her travels in Vietnam and now was exploring the island of Santorini with her friends. She raved that her favorite food in Saigon was bánh tráng trộn. She loved it!

Of course, I’ve enjoyed bánh tráng trộn, one of Saigon’s most ubiquitous street foods, many many times – at roving street food vendors and in personal living room-based vendors in small alleyways. It’s usually very yummy and sometimes it’s just excellent!

Assembling some of the best Bánh Tráng Trộn in Saigon

But, last week when we spotted an old woman sitting on a short blue plastic stool at the front door of her Saigon alleyway home (with her bare feet ankle-deep in quả quất and mango peelings), serving up bánh tráng trộn to a line of waiting motorbike-mounted young couples, I knew it was time to honor the request made to me by that young woman on the Greek island.

The bánh tráng trộn began with a mound of thin, very dry rice paper, cut into strips (the bánh tráng) – almost plastic-like in its feel – placed in a large mixing bowl. From there, the combination of various flavor ingredients began in an artful assembly.

The old woman who has been serving here from her living room for the past 11 years, subtly taste-tested her creation. She made a last minute flavor adjustment, scooped the entire concoction into a small plastic bag, inserted a pair of chopsticks, and handed Hai our alleyway culinary treat.

Classic Saigon Street Food – Bánh Tráng Trộn

What an amazingly complex mixture of flavors and textures sensations – MAJOR YUM! The dry, plastic-like rice paper strips actually absorbed all the flavors and moisture of the various blended ingredients and became a chewy flavor burst!